Changes
by BekahLeigh
Summary: Five strangers with nothing in common, except the end of the world. Stranded together during a snow storm, tensions rise. Will they find common ground or break apart? (Set between S2 and S3, Eventual Daryl/Carol, established Glenn/Maggie, Rick. Everyone makes an appearance.)
1. Chapter 1

**Authors Note: A bit of background on this story. I was recently laid up in bed for a few days with an injury from work. I rarely ever use the tv in my room and as a result, I still had the entirety of season 2 on my Tivo. So I started watching and when I came to the finale, I was dozing off when the episode blacked out and a commercial for the movies on AMC came on. As soon as I saw a clip from the one that inspired this story, I had an A-Ha, lightbulb above the head moment. This is a short chapter and is really only serving as a set up for the rest of the story. Later chapters will be much longer and updated regularly.**

**Read on and enjoy!**

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It had been two months since the night when they had been forced to flee the safety of the farm. They moved from house to house, road to road, always in search of their next meal, a place to sleep, or perhaps, even a place where they could be free from the horrors of this world. But no such place had been found yet. They had made camp at various houses, gathering what supplies they could along the way, but inevitably, the dead would push them out, back onto a path full of tension and uncertainty. The air around them had grown colder and it was clear now that, even in the mild Georgia climate, winter was fully upon them. They had been driving for hours along a back country road, perhaps a road they had traveled before, it wasn't clear anymore where they were going. Rick led the way, and everyone followed, unsure of what else to do. They still had a few more hours of daylight, but when the sky started to darken and the first snowflakes began to fall, Rick signaled for the rest of the group to pull over. They did, slowly emerging from their vehicles to find out what the plan was.

Rick looked up at the ominous clouds before he spoke. "It looks like we're in for a storm. We need to find shelter for the night. We don't know how bad it might get and we don't need to end up stranded out here in the middle of nowhere."

Everyone agreed and when Beth mentioned that she had seen an abandoned library a few miles back, they all got back into their respective vehicles and turned around. They found the building easily, it was secluded and from what they could tell, it seemed to be clear of walkers. They came to a stop, backing the vehicles up near the door in case they needed to make a quick retreat. Rick and Daryl told everyone to stay put, raising their weapons and entering the building, making sure that it was clear before allowing the rest of the group in. When they emerged a few minutes later, Rick motioned for everyone to grab their gear and enter, while Daryl dragged out the corpse of what had once been a woman, the lone biter they had found inside and pulled the bloody arrow from its head before tossing the body on the side of the building.

When they entered, they found that it appeared to be relatively untouched. The main area was rather large, the walls lined with books. There were two rows of tables and chairs, separated by an aisle leading to a large abstract sculpture in the middle of the room. Overstuffed armchairs arranged in a circle on one side of the room and on the other side there were a few separate, smaller rooms. An office, a small, meagerly stocked kitchen, and to the delight of a few, a children's reading room, full of plush couches and even a few foam sleep mats on the floor. They had spent the last night sleeping in their cars and everyone was looking forward to some well-deserved rest. They made a small meal out of the packs of crackers and pretzels they found in the cupboards of the kitchen and some of the canned vegetables they had grabbed at their last stop. With the hunger pains in their stomachs momentarily silenced, Lori, Hershel, Carl, and Beth said their goodnights and headed off to bed. So far, this trip had been especially hard on the weaker members of the group. The children were both obviously exhausted and they had gotten way too thin, the lack of regular meals draining the energy from their growing bodies. Hershel had come down with a bad cold a week earlier and though he didn't complain, it was clear he was not feeling well. Lori was now nearly four months pregnant, or five, depending upon who her child's father was, and in addition to her severe morning sickness, she was extremely depressed, the stresses of her family, their never ending fight for survival, and the loss of Shane at her husband's hands causing her to nearly shut down. The door to the reading room closed behind them and it was unlikely that any of them would emerge again until morning.

Rick, Daryl, Maggie, Glenn, Carol, and T-Dog remained in the main area of the library, all of them tired but none of them ready to turn in yet. It was still fairly early and they started to scatter around the room, each in search of something to occupy their time. T-Dog had volunteered to take the first eight hour watch shift and had grabbed a thick blanket and a rifle before heading back out into the now raging snow storm to hold up in one of the cars and keep guard.

Carol was wandering through the racks of books, running her fingers thoughtfully along the spines as she looked for a something that interested her. She finally found a book and took a seat in the last chair at the table furthest from the door, wrapping her knees to her chest as she stared at the pages before her, seeing them but not really reading, too lost in the turmoil in her own mind to concentrate.

Maggie and Glenn made their way into the office, finding no useful supplies. They were about to leave when they saw that there was a large circuit box on the far wall, the labels on the switches indicating that the building was hooked up to a solar generator. Cautiously optimistic, Glenn reached out and flipped the main power switch. Maggie laughed as the overhead lights in the room blazed to life. They walked out of the office, finding the rest of the group looking up in awe as the rows of fluorescent bulbs above them slowly flickered on and a strange neon blue glow was cast over the room from the accent lights that lined the ceiling. Maggie and Glenn sat down at the table in front of Carol's, a chair between them. Their releationship was still new and though they were sneaking off on a regular basis to fool around, there was still an awkwardness between them.

Rick was seated at the first table in the opposite row from where everyone else was seated, studying a large map that was spread out before him, hoping that some solution would jump out at him from the mazes of blue and green lines. He needed a plan, some solid course of action. The stresses of leadership were starting to wear at him, slowly chipping away at his calm demeanor. He had assumed the role of protector for the group easily, his overwhelming need to maintain order suiting him to the job. But as he scanned his eyes over the map for the hundredth time, he found himself wishing that the day he had found his wife and son, he had simply collected them and left. The group relied on him guidance and at this moment, he was almost certain that he had none left to give.

Daryl looked out over the room with a scowl on his face from his place behind the checkout desk. He was rifling through the drawers, not really sure what it was that he was looking for. He was growing restless already, unable to hunt and locked in a vacancy. He often wondered what the hell he was still doing here. If it was just him, things would be so much easier. He could hide out in the woods, killing the dead and living off the animals and plants of the forest, the one place he had ever truly felt comfortable in his whole fucked up life. But even after the loss of his brother at their leader's hands, he remained with them. And for reasons completely unknown to him, he had nearly killed himself trying to save the life of a little girl who, despite his best efforts, hadn't survived after being bitten. He even found that in the midst of all of the horrors they saw on a daily basis, he had formed an uneasy attachment to that little girl's mother. Maybe he stayed for her, maybe he was just a glutton for punishment. He really couldn't say for sure. All he knew was that he felt some primal urge to protect these people, but it sure as hell didn't mean he had to like them. He refocused his attention on the task he had placed before himself. Finding nothing more than a tin of breath mints and a fairly sharp letter opener, he slammed the last drawer shut, hopping up to sit on the counter, jabbing the letter opener into the soft wood, over and over again, simply as a means of releasing the tension that was forming in his chest.

The silence in the room was deafening, the only sound was the steady ticking of the clock on the wall. No one spoke, there was nothing to talk about. At the moment they were safe, there was no imminent threat and aside from conversations pertaining to the everyday task of survival or situations that affected the group as a whole, no one ever really had much to talk about. They were a strange kind of family, but at the same time the five people in this room were strangers. They knew the basics about each other, name, age, sex, skills in relation to their roles within the group. But that was it. Aside from a few offhand remarks, they never talked about the world as it was before, their families, their jobs, the hundreds of tiny things that made them into the people that they were now. It all seemed so insignificant, their former lives were like a dream that you wake up from and can't quite recall the details of, something that had mattered so much in the moment, but was quickly forgotten when reality set in. No one ever questioned this arrangement, no one felt the need to.

They remained as they were for a while, the tick tick tick of the clock echoing through the room. They were all focused on their own thoughts when Glenn's voice interrupted them.

"Guys, I don't know if this is just me, but does anyone else have déjà vu right now. I feel like I've been here before, like when I was a teenager or something." he said as he glanced around the room again, a look of realization coming to his face when he figured out what it was about this scene that felt so familiar. "I got it, this feels just like high school detention."

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**So there you have it. If you already know where I'm going with this, kudos to you. You have good fucking taste in movies. If you don't have any idea what I'm trying to set up, please google John Hughes and watch all of his movies as soon as possible. This story is one that could easily become kind of cheesy and I'm going to do my best to make sure that it doesn't happen. This will not be a word for word remake, but simply an homage. Our characters will still remain our characters, and I would like to think of this story as a missing scene from the time jump between seasons 2 and 3. Thank you very much for reading and please, please, pretty fucking please, review. Feedback makes me a very happy girl : D **

**xoxoxo Bekah xoxoxo **


	2. Chapter 2

**Authors Note: Thanks to everyone for your reviews. I'm really trying to keep this story as in canon as I can, so it will most likely be updated every two to three days, just because I'm re-watching episodes to make sure that I get some of the details correct. **

**Please read on and enjoy!**

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Glenn suddenly felt self-conscious as four pairs of eyes turned in his direction, a look of disbelief in each of them. He knew what they were thinking, it was obvious that they all saw him as just some nerdy Asian kid, even Maggie. She was looking at him with an especially amused expression.

"Glenn, how do you know what detention feels like? You don't really seem like the type of guy who was raising hell in high school. Didn't you tell me you were in the math club?" she asked him, trying not to sound like she was teasing.

She was quietly waiting for an answer and it seemed as if the rest of the group was as well. He didn't want to admit the truth, especially to her and he wished that he had never brought the subject up, but now that it was out there, he had to say something. And since he was a terrible liar and he knew it, he decided to just go with the real story.

"I had detention once. It wasn't for anything really bad, but a teacher of mine thought that I was cheating on a test. He didn't even give me a chance to explain myself, he just took my paper away and sent me to the principal. I had to spend a whole Saturday in our school library writing some essay on why cheating was wrong. It sucked." he admitted, shrugging his shoulders as if he was trying to apologize for the fact that his story wasn't very exciting.

Maggie just laughed as she accepted his answer. "I figured it had to be for something like that, I mean, you were probably just as big of a geek in high school as you are now." she said, rethinking herself when she saw the way his face slightly fell. "Not that it's a bad thing."

He perked back up at her last comment. She had told him once that she liked geeks and thought he still had no idea why, it was a small comfort. He grinned shyly at her as he asked. "So what about you? How many times did you have detention? I'm willing to bet that it was zero. I saw your old yearbook, you looked like the prom queen. I'm sure that even if you got into any trouble they let you off the hook. That's the way it was for the popular kids when I was in school."

She smiled a little as she narrowed her eyes playfully at him. "I was not the prom queen. I was a homecoming princess once. But just because I was popular, that doesn't mean that I got away with breaking the rules. If anything they were harder on me because the other kids kind of looked up to me. Not sure why they did, I got in plenty of trouble. I used to skip class all the time and once I even got caught kissing this boy under the bleachers. You should have seen the look on my Daddy's face when he got the call about that one." she said, giggling at the memory. She looked over to see that Rick as still watching them. The quiet in the room was driving her mad and she figured that since she and Glenn had both admitted their experiences, maybe Rick would too. "How about you Rick, any detention stories? Or were you always Mr. Law and Order? Bet you were the Class President, weren't you?"

Rick closed the map in front of him and turned himself around in his chair. He was quickly growing tired of trying to come up with a new plan and figured that maybe a little mindless conversation would help to clear his clouded mind.

"No, I wasn't the class president. That was Shane actually. He used to be quite the charming bastard before all this stuff happened. Talked me into a lot of stuff that I'm not very proud of. I spent quite a few afternoons sitting in detention hall with him, Lori too. I never did anything too bad. Pranks in the locker room, hanging out in the parking lot, sneaking beers and getting into fights with some of the other guys, usually over something Lori said, or something Shane did. But most of the time, the teachers let it slide. Me and Shane were both on the football team, and they didn't want us getting pulled off the field. I never did think it was right, even back then, but Shane loved it. He thought he was untouchable." he said, glancing up to see that everyone was looking at him cautiously. It was common knowledge that Shane had died at his hand, and right now, the way he was talking about him in such a fond tone, it was slightly unnerving. Rick suddenly wished that he hadn't said anything, but for some reason, he went on. "Shane really was my best friend, and it kills me every day that I had to be the one to end his life. But if I hadn't, there would have been no stopping him. I told you, he thought he was untouchable. I think that's the reason he became the man that he did, he had never been told no by anyone in his life. But I try not to think about him that way, I don't want to remember him as the man who tried to kill me so he could steal my wife and my son. I just want to remember him as the guy who sat next to me in detention, shooting spitballs at our science teacher. Ya'll can understand that, right?"

Glenn and Maggie both nodded, they knew how Shane had been in his final days and hearing Rick remember him with such love in his voice, it truly made them understand that for him to have done what he did, then there had truly been no other choice. Nonetheless, a tension had filled the room and Maggie knew that if it remained then it was going to be a very long night. She looked up at Daryl, who was still sitting cross legged on the checkout counter, watching the scene with his usual expression, a mix of anger and indifference. She had only spoken to him a few times before, usually asking him something that got nothing more than a look or a grunt as an answer. But she spoke now, genuinely curious.

"Daryl, did you get detention a lot when you were in school?" she asked, not venturing to vocalize her own assumptions. She had grown a bit more comfortable with the redneck, but she certainly wasn't going to tease him like she had Glenn and Rick.

Daryl narrowed his eyes at the group who waited to hear his reply. All this talk about something as stupid as high school seemed out of place. He was used to them not talking much about such trivial shit and frankly, he was grateful for that. His own past was not something he ever really shared with anyone. But sitting in this room, restless and bored as hell, he figured that it couldn't hurt to answer, it wasn't like he was revealing anything that they hadn't already figured out.

"Ain't never been in detention in my life. Teachers never even bothered to try and send me, they knew it wasn't no use, I wasn't gonna go anyway. Did plenty of shit I shoulda got in trouble for, but most of the teachers had had Merle in their classes about ten years before me and I think they was just happy I wasn't as big of an asshole as him. They let me be and counted down the days till I graduated. Fuck it, saved them the trouble and dropped out soon as I was old enough to sign the papers. Got my good enough diploma and split." he said, his voice rough.

His confession didn't really seem to shock anyone, they were all looking at him the way they always did, as if he was just some redneck curiosity. Everyone except Carol. She was physically watching the group, a small smile on her lips. But it was pretty obvious that her mind was elsewhere. She looked this way most of the time anymore, like she was a million miles away, caught up in her memories. He felt a familiar pang of guilt in his chest. He knew damn well that she was thinking about Sophia and though he had tried time and time again to tell himself that he didn't care, it killed him every time he saw that broken look in her blue eyes. He suddenly felt the urge to distract her from her thoughts, and tried to gather the nerve to talk to her, something that he usually tried to avoid ever since the night he had blown up at her on Hershel's farm. He took a deep breath before calling her name quietly. She didn't seem to hear him, so he raised his voice and tried again.

Carol's head turned in the direction of the shout that had startled her out of her daydream. She saw that the whole group was looking at her expectantly. She wasn't sure how long they had been calling her name, she had blanked out a while ago. She was thinking about Sophia's first day of school, how her little girl had cried and held onto her leg, begging her not to make her go on the school bus. The way she had come home in the afternoon so full of excitement, chattering away about how she was going to learn her letters and numbers. It was a good memory, one of the few that she had left. Being here, in this room full of books, something that her daughter had loved so dearly, it was gnawing away at her. But she was trying to stay strong, the rest of the group needed her, with Lori out of commission most of the time, most of the domestic duties had fallen to her. And the way everyone was looking at her, she could only imagine what they needed now.

"Did you all need something?" she asked, completely unaware of the conversation they had been having.

No one said anything for a moment, they were all pretty sure that Carol had gone off the deep end after Sophia's death and they didn't really want to rattle her. But Daryl spoke up, not really worried that he would set her off.

"Didn't need nothin'. We're all just sittin around like a buncha old ladies, gossiping about our high school war stories. You ever get detention when you was a kid?"

She lowered her eyes a bit, a small blush of embarrassment rising in her cheeks as she answered. "Just once. It's silly really, but I kind of wanted to see what it was like so I mouthed off to a teacher just so he'd send me to the principal. I don't know, I guess I didn't have anything better to do. I spent a whole Saturday sitting there doodling hearts and flowers in my notebook."

Daryl felt a small smile creep onto his lips at her confession, but everyone else just shook their heads and turned away, her admission only reinforcing their opinion that there was something a little off in her brain. Daryl could feel his temper begin to rise as he watched them all dismiss her. He didn't know why, but it pissed him off and before he knew it he had hopped down from the counter and stalked over to where Rick was looking down at his map. He still had the letter opener in his hand and he jabbed it down into the middle of the paper with enough force that it remained there, embedded in the wood of the table. Rick looked up, obviously startled, and found that Daryl was looking at him with a cocky smirk on his face.

"Do you have some kind of problem Dixon?" Rick asked, trying to keep his tone of voice calm and even.

Daryl just took a step back and jammed his hands in the pockets of his worn jeans. "Nope, no problem at all. Just thinking, the way you was talking about High School, sounds like you was Shane's bitch. So, just wondering, was he fuckin' Lori back then too?"

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**Oooohhh, sick burn! Next chapter, drama awaits. Please, please, please, review! I am really putting way too much thought into this silly little story and I would love to hear what you think. I'm pretty sure that you all know now what roles our characters will fill, but I would love to know if you think that I have their personalities right. Let me know, constructive criticism more than welcome. Thanks for reading. Update soon.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Authors Note: Thanks a ton to those who reviewed and followed. You guys are all totally rad! Yep, went all 80's there on you. This chapter is mostly Daryl and Rick, with a sprinkling of Glenn, Maggie, and Carol. Read on and Enjoy!**

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Daryl could see that Rick was completely speechless. The room was so quiet that you could hear a pin drop. The silence was suddenly broken by a muffled laugh, and Daryl looked in the direction it came from, seeing Maggie with her hand over her mouth and her eyes wide. He tried to stop himself but the words were out of his mouth before he even had a chance to think about them.

"Somethin' funny princess? Way I see it, you ain't no better, fucking Short Round there. Ain't like we don't know, you think you're bein' real slick, sneaking off into the woods every damn time we stop somewhere, but Glenn has a big fucking mouth and you scream like a freight train."

Maggie's jaw dropped. She wanted to say something but frankly, she had never seen Daryl like this and he kind of scared the hell out of her. She looked over at Glenn, waiting for him to defend them. He opened his mouth to speak but as soon as his eyes met Daryl's warning glare, he quickly shut it again and looked down.

Rick finally found his voice and jumped up from his chair, pushing it back with a loud screech as it scratched the floor. He walked over to Daryl and tried his best to conceal the hesitation in his voice. "What the hell is your problem man? Maggie and Glenn can do whatever they want, they're both adults. And as for Lori, I've forgiven her what happened between her and Shane. It didn't start until she thought I was dead and it ended as soon as she found out that I wasn't. And I don't see where it's any of your business. That's my wife you're talking about. Who the hell are you to judge us?"

Daryl took a step back from where Rick was standing, practically seething and raised his hands in mock surrender. "Never said I was judging any of you. It ain't my place. But ya'll might want to remember your own fucking faults before you go judging other people. I saw the way you all looked at me and Carol when we told you our fucking stories. You looked at me like I was nothing but a poor piece of white trash and you looked at Carol like you felt sorry for her. I really don't give a fuck what ya'll think of me, but she don't deserve that shit. So if I catch any of you lookin' at her like that again, like you think she's crazy, you're getting an arrow in the ass."

Daryl quickly realized what he had said and looked at Carol, seeing a lone tear fall down her cheek. When her eyes met his, she quickly wiped it away and slipped out of her chair, rushing over to the circle of armchairs and dropping into one that concealed her from their view. Daryl was about to follow her when Rick's hand stopped him, shooting out and pushing hard against his chest, knocking him back another step. Suddenly all he could see was red.

There was one thing that Rick wouldn't stand for and that was being threatened. He was really starting to get pissed now and he needed to make that perfectly clear. "Daryl, I don't know what you think you saw, but we sure as hell weren't judging Carol. And how else do you want us to look at you, you've made it pretty damn clear that you don't like any of us. I thought we were past all of this shit, that we could at least work together, but I guess I was wrong. I don't even know what you're still doing here. There's no shelter, there's no food unless we find it or you catch it, and it's not like we're family. I tried to do right by you for what happened with your brother, but you can't stay with us if you're going to be acting like this every time you think someone is looking at you funny. You are not going to threaten anyone in this group. I hear you say one more word about shooting someone in the ass, there's gonna be two hits, me hitting you, you hitting the floor. Do you understand me? "

They were glaring at each other, almost chest to chest, neither one wanting to back down. Glenn could see Daryl's hand starting to ball up into a fist and though Maggie tried to stop him, he stood up from his seat and walked over to them, gently pushing them apart as he spoke. "Guys, break it up. There's no reason for all this. It was just a stupid misunderstanding." he said, trying to calm them both down. They had enough problems without something like this.

Daryl and Rick took a step apart, but when Glenn started to speak again they both told him to shut up, causing him to give up and return to his seat by Maggie, defeated.

Daryl could feel himself getting ready to swing and every cell in his body was screaming at him to stop, but it was no use, if there was one thing that set him off more than anything else, it was being touched, and though the little shove from Rick had thrown him for a moment, he was fully aware of it now and he'd be damned if anyone was going to put their hands on him. He lifted his arm from his side and took aim, but just before his fist could connect with Rick's jaw, he found himself being pulled into a tight grip and tackled to the floor. He struggled to break free, but his arms were locked behind his back and he could feel Rick's weight on top of him as the man calmly spoke.

"You gonna knock this shit off or do I need to cuff you? I don't want to do it man, but you aren't giving me much of a choice. Knock the chip off your shoulder and stay, or get your stuff and go. It's up to you, but if you care what I think, I think you need to go cool down and we'll try to have a rational discussion about this when you're thinking straight."

Daryl knew damn well that he had taken this way too far, but it was just his way. He had never been one to take a slight against him lightly and in his experience he had found that a good swift punch in the teeth usually made him feel better. But laying here, his face pressed against the carpet, Rick talking to him so calmly, it didn't make him feel anything but shame. He didn't know why he had let it escalate this far, he and Rick had pretty much gotten over the incident with Merle and had been working together just fine. But it didn't take much to make Daryl snap these days, he was hungry, he was fucking cold and he would kill someone for a cigarette. More than anything, he was scared, though he'd die before he'd ever admit that to a single soul. Under different circumstances, before the world had ended, being in a situation like this would only make him lash out more, resulting in a fight that would usually end with the other guy in the hospital and him in a jail cell. But he surprised even himself as he stopped struggling for a moment and took a deep breath, feeling his rage subside as he exhaled.

"Lemme up , I ain't gonna fucking hit you. Just get the hell off me before I change my mind." he finally said.

Rick released his arms as promised and watched him as he stood up, still on edge but slightly less angry looking than before. Rick opened his mouth to say something but Daryl beat him to it.

"Just forget I even said anything. You wanna look at me like a piece of trash, go right ahead, you ain't wrong. But all I gotta say is you all need to treat Carol better. I'm an asshole and I know it, but she ain't done a damn thing to you people. Woman washes your clothes and cooks your meals and I don't care if you don't think you did anything, you all look at her like she's crazy. Ain't none of you in any place to be judging no one, like it or not, just cause you were better than us before, it don't mean a damn thing now. I ain't tryin to be mean, I'm just bein' honest, I'd expect you to know the difference."

Rick was once again without words. He knew Daryl was right. They all did. It was just strange to hear him vocalize such a thought. But hearing him speak about himself the way he had, that's what hurt the most. Rick had never tried to make Daryl feel like he was any less than anyone else in the group. But he had to admit to himself that maybe he hadn't been very appreciative of him. It was true that he was baffled as to why Daryl had stayed, but he was thankful nonetheless. Without him, they would have starved to death long before the walkers got a chance to take them out. He needed to tell him that but he couldn't bring himself to say the words. He just nodded and hoped that Daryl understood.

Daryl narrowed his eyes and nodded back reluctantly. "Whatever man, I ain't goin' nowhere, ya'll got kids to feed and I ain't about to leave that up to you. I'm an ass but I'm not about to let no kids go without. You ain't a bad leader, but you're a shit hunter."

Rick actually found that a small smile had crept onto his face. That was the closest he was going to get to an apology. He shrugged his shoulders as he spoke. "I'm not gonna argue with you about that. So, is this over? I know where you stand, you know where I stand, can we forget about this. I'll talk to Carol too if you want."

Daryl nodded. "Yeah, I guess so." He actually felt better for a moment as he watched Rick sit back down at the table and smile as he pulled the letter opener from his map, laying it down next to the paper and resuming his task. The feeling quickly left him as he turned around and saw that Maggie was standing right behind him, looking angrier than he had ever seen her look. He had nearly forgotten what he had said to her and Glenn and now seeing her standing here, he felt like a piece of shit. He was about to open his mouth to try and apologize, but it was quickly shut as her open palm came flying up, slapping him with such force that he knew he was gonna have a bruise. She didn't say anything, just stood there with a satisfied look on her face. Trying to keep his voice calm, he finally spoke after a few moments of silence.

"I deserved that. Sorry I said that shit about you two. You feel better?" he asked her.

She took a step back, her resolve failing her when she realized that he really did seem sorry. "Um… yeah…sorry…I just… don't talk about me and Glenn like that again."

Daryl lowered his head and spoke. "Fair enough." He didn't say anything more and walked around her, making his way over to where Carol was hiding. He took a deep breath and stepped into the circle of chairs, finding her curled up in one, her knees to her chest. She looked up at him, but instead of the understanding that her gaze usually held after he went off on one of his rants, her blue eyes were empty. He could feel a whole new wave of anger surge through him and he bit it back, knowing that it wasn't going to help a damn thing. He flopped down into the chair next to hers, not meeting her eyes as she turned her head towards him. He was trying to figure out what he could say to make her feel better when her quiet voice spoke out.

"Daryl, why did you do that?"

He thought about the question for a moment before answering. "I don't know, I just got pissed off. I can't really help myself sometimes." he admitted, still not venturing to look at her.

She shook her head. "That's not what I meant. I know why you said what you said, it's just the way you are. I get that. What I don't get is why you did it because you thought they were judging me. You didn't have to do that, if I was mad at them, I would have said something myself. I probably am crazy anyway."

Daryl finally raised his head and looked at her. "Are you kiddin' me? You ain't crazy. You've lost more than any of these people and you don't stand around bitchin' about it like they all do. And sorry to tell you this, but you know damn well you wouldn't have said anything. You let everybody walk all over you, hell you let me walk all over you. I was just tryin' to help."

Carol was stunned. He had never spoken to her like that before. He had barely spoken to her at all since the farm. She wanted to be mad, wanted to tell him that he was wrong, that she could take care of herself, but she knew all too well that it wasn't true. She lowered her eyes again and spoke, her voice not much louder than a whisper. "I'm sorry." she said.

Daryl couldn't help it, he almost snorted out a laugh. Carol's head shot up at the sound, looking at him as if he was the crazy one. "Shit, didn't mean to laugh. But you just proved my point. You oughta be just as pissed at me as everyone else and you're sitting here sayin' sorry to me. Damn woman, you don't want me defending you, fine, but one of these days, you gotta learn to do it yourself. So come on, get mad. You can slap me too if you want. Gimme a matching bruise on the other cheek."

She smiled as he turned his cheek towards her, giving her a clean shot. But she didn't slap him, she didn't have any desire to. Instead she lifted her hand and placed it gently on his cheek. He pulled away from her touch as if he had been burned.

Daryl was frozen. Why the hell had she done that? He liked her, he still didn't know why, but he did. But his experience with women was laughingly limited and he had no damn idea what the hell to say now. So he said the first thing that popped into his head as he jumped up from his chair and turned away from her. "Um, I gotta go take a piss." He quickly scanned his eyes around the room and found the door that led to the bathroom. He nearly broke into a run as he made his way to it and entered, slumping back against the door once he was inside. This was turning into a very weird day and all he really wanted right now was a smoke to help him calm his shaky nerves. He suddenly remembered the tin of breath mints that he had found in the desk and extracted them from his pocket. It wasn't a Marlboro, but it would have to do. He suddenly smiled as he opened the lid and found that instead of the minty white candies he was expecting, the tin contained what appeared to be a bunch of neatly rolled joints. He lifted it to his nose and inhaled the sticky sweet smell. This was way better than a damn Marlboro. His hand went to his pocket, feeling for his zippo, but his face fell as he found that it wasn't there. He just couldn't win today. He sure didn't want the rest of the group to know about this, bad enough he had been an asshole all morning, but without a lighter he was pretty much up shit creek. He glanced around the room for a moment, looking for a solution but there was none to be found. He was just about to give up when he had a thought. Merle's old army lighter was still in the saddlebag of his bike. Problem was, the bike was outside. He was trying to think of a way to make it through the room and out the door without attracting suspicion, and especially without having to face Carol. He just couldn't deal with whatever was going on between them right now. He leaned his head back against the door in defeat, but was intrigued as he saw that there was some kind of access panel in the ceiling above one of the toilet stalls. He moved from his place by the door and stepped up on the seat of the toilet, pulling the door open and finding that it led to what appeared to be a ventilation shaft. He balanced himself carefully on the tank and popped his head into the shaft, seeing that it appeared to be a straight shot through the library, a bright light visible on the far end where it led to the outside. He suddenly had a thought and went with it, hoisting himself up and into the narrow metal tunnel. He began to crawl on his hands and knees towards the light, shaking his head as he realized just how stupid this was. Whatever, this wasn't the dumbest thing he had ever done. Hell, it wasn't even the dumbest thing he had done today.

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**There you go, we've had our initial blow up and they've come to some kind of uneasy understanding. But we have a long way to go before we can truly call these five friends. You all know what's going to happen in the next chapter, and if such things offend you, too bad. Lighten up, it's just pot, they aren't going to smoke Merle's meth stash or anything. Also, shout out to alibabwa, who was kind enough to be the first to review on this silly little tale and ask me to include the air duct scene. If there is any specific scene you would like to see included, please let me know. Review, review, review! I am a great big ball of insecure and love to hear that you all actually like this shit that I write. Even if you don't like it let me know. Feedback of any kind makes me happier than an emo girl with a pixie stick sandwich. xoxoxo Bekah xoxoxo**


	4. Chapter 4

**Authors Note: Thanks for the follows and reviews. You guys are bitchin! So without further ado, Chapter 4. This is going to get pretty funny before we get back to some drama, so read on and enjoy!**

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Carol watched as Daryl retreated into the bathroom and slammed the door behind him. He hadn't even looked at her. Suddenly she felt like an idiot. Why had she done that? He was being nice to her, a rare occurrence, and she had to go and mess it all up. But she couldn't help herself, she had wanted to touch him for months now, but she had never had the guts to. Even when she rode on his bike with him, she resisted the urge to wrap her arms around his waist and press her cheek to the dirty angel wings on the back of his leather vest. She held tight to the seat and waited for them to stop so she could breathe again. She liked him, she had admitted that to herself a long time ago, after everything he had done to try and find Sophia, the way he had risked himself to pull her from a herd of walkers. Even now, he was getting into fights trying to defend her from a threat that she hadn't even really noticed. But she truly didn't know, one way or another, what exactly it was that he felt for her. Sometimes, like just now when he had almost been joking with her, it seemed like they were almost friends. But most of the time he just watched her, the expression on his face completely unreadable. And that face, she would be lying if she said that there wasn't something about that face that she found a little intruiging. He was dirty more often than not, but he was still a good looking guy under the grime, and more and more, she caught herself imagining what it would be like to brush her fingers across his skin or kiss his lips, if she could get him to stop scowling for a second. She dropped her head onto her knees. What was she thinking? It didn't matter if he was nice to her sometimes, there was no was that a man like that would ever want her. He was no doubt a few years younger than her and even with some of his rougher edges, he could have whatever woman he wanted now. Some cute young thing like Beth, or they might come across some more survivors and he would find someone a little more his speed. But she knew now, it was pretty obvious from the way he had pulled away from her, there was no way he would ever want a woman like her. Plain, skinny, short haired, mousy Carol. Ed had made sure to tell her every day for twenty years that no one else would ever want her pitiful old ass, and it looked like he had been right. She picked her head up from her knees when the faint sound of something hitting metal broke her out of her thoughts. What was that? Walkers trying to get in? She wrapped her arms even tighter around her knees, trying to hold herself together. What if there was another herd outside like the one that drove them from the farm? Surely Rick heard the noise to and was probably checking it out right now. Part of her wanted to go investigate too, but she didn't move. Just waited to hear someone tell her to run. There wasn't much else that she could do. She almost smiled when she realized that Daryl had been right, she really did need to learn to defend herself. Maybe she would ask him to help her train, that is, if he ever came out of the bathroom, or looked her in the eye again.

Glenn could hear the sound of the bathroom door slam. He looked over his shoulder and found that the noise must have come from Daryl, who was now missing from the room. He glanced at Maggie, who had silently returned to the seat next to him after Daryl had stalked off. She was staring off into space, but she wouldn't look at him. No wonder really, she was probably pissed at him. Everything Daryl had said, while not entirely untrue, was pretty offensive and he hadn't said a word in defense. He had just sat there like the coward he was and let him talk about Maggie's and his relationship like it was nothing more than two bunnies humping in the woods. But to him, it wasn't. He loved this girl. He would never admit it to her but he had fallen in love with her the second he had seen her wearing that stupid cowboy hat, riding her horse and leading one for him. She was incredible, she was the kind of girl that never would have looked twice at him before everything went to hell. And now she was probably mad at him because he was too much of a pussy to stand up for himself. To stand up for her. Sure, he could kill a walker if he needed to, he was shaking the whole time, but he could do it. But speaking up against anyone in the group, there was no way. It wasn't like he had anything of any value to input most of the time, the only thing he was good for was making jokes or making runs and even then, he was still terrified as he slipped quietly through whatever place he was raiding, hoping to god that it was clear. While fairly booksmart, he knew that when it came to dealing with people, or making plans, he was pretty much useless. What did he know about any of this stuff, hunting or camping or weapons? He had grown up in a tiny apartment in the middle of the city. The most experience he had with any of this stuff had been in the form of video games. He knew that if he didn't learn how to stand up for himself, and soon, he was going to lose Maggie.

Maggie couldn't bring herself to look at Glenn, even when she felt his eyes on her. She couldn't believe she had done that. Why had she hit Daryl? Sure, he was an asshole and he did have it coming, but she shouldn't have let herself lose her cool like that. Glenn probably thought she was nothing but a bitch. She had tried so hard over the years to calm down, to be the little southern bell that everyone expected her to be. Hell, in high school she had almost driven herself mad trying to fit into the perfect little clique of cheerleaders and party girls. She had played her part pretty convincingly, but now that some of that pressure was off of her, she was finding more and more that her true self was slipping through. She wasn't sweet like Beth was, and she wasn't a homemaker type like Patty had been. She was just Maggie, and it terrified her. Glenn usually put up with her little moments of attitude, but she may have gone too far this time. He had liked her when she was still being the dutiful farmer's daughter and she knew that if she didn't get her emotions under control soon, she was going to lose Glenn. She finally dared to look at him when she heard a loud clanging sound coming from somewhere.

"Did you hear that?" she asked, seeing from the look on his face that he had.

Rick had heard the noise as well, and he quickly went on the defensive, jumping up from his seat and pulling the pistol from his belt as he ran through the double doors that led to the outside. When he returned a few minutes later, the look on his face could only be described as baffled. Seeing that everyone, even Carol, who had emerged from her hiding place, was looking at him questioningly, he explained.

"There's nothing out there. I checked with T-Dog and he hasn't seen a single movement from anywhere around us. I checked the perimeter myself and there's nothing out there. The snow storm must have sent them into hiding for awhile."

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, but it was short lived as the clanging sound started up again, louder this time, closer to where they all stood. They all looked up when they realized that the sound was not coming from outside, but from above their heads.

Maggie took a step back, bumping into Glenn who wrapped his arms around her protectively. Carol clutched her bag tighter to her chest, secretly wishing that she had a pair of arms around her as well, muscular ones, clad in denim and leather. Rick just stood there looking at the ceiling, trying to figure out what to do. He could see that the three were scared, and he tried his best to reassure them.

"We don't know it's a biter. Could just be the wind in the ventilation shaft, or even an animal trapped up there. You know, a squirrel or something." But in spite of his reassurances to the group, he never lowered his gun, aiming it at the spot where the sound now came from. He suddenly had a thought as he looked around the room, and he returned his eyes to the ceiling as he said it out loud.

"Guys, speaking of squirrels, where's Daryl?"

As if on cue, the ceiling above them began to crack and in a dusty cloud of broken plaster, the question was answered. Daryl dropped to the floor with a thud, a grimace of pain on his face as he cursed everything from the ceiling to his mother. When he opened his eyes, he could see that everyone was looking at him, their expressions varying between shock and amusement. Rick was frozen, trying not to laugh, but he still hadn't lowered his gun.

Daryl groaned as he tried to move and found that he couldn't yet. He finally gave up and slumped back down. "Goddamn son of a bitch, that fucking hurt. You gonna keep aiming that gun at me Rick, you might as well just shoot, cause I think I broke my fucking back."

No one moved, the whole thing had happened so fast that they were still trying to process it. It was Carol who finally stepped forward, releasing her tight grip on herself and kneeling at his side, a look of concern on her face as she spoke. "Daryl, you need to get up. The fall wasn't that bad, but if you don't start moving you are going to be sore ." She extended her hand to him to help pull him up, but he didn't take it, instead pushing up and dusting himself off as he climbed to his feet. She tried not to think about it, she just moved from her crouch and took a step back, wrapping her arms back around herself as she waited to hear him speak.

Rick was looking up at the gaping hole in the ceiling and then he finally looked back at Daryl, who was standing there, shifting in his feet. "Daryl, um…I'm glad you weren't a walker… but if you don't mind me asking, what exactly were you doing in the ceiling?"

Daryl actually looked embarrassed, but he just shrugged, reaching into his pocket and extracting the tin. He tossed it at Rick and spoke. "Fuck it, you take it. It's pretty damn clear that the universe don't want me to have it. I was tryin' to get outside to get a lighter. Mine went missin'. Go ahead, judge away. Damn redneck wants to get a little zen and nearly kills himself in the process. Shit, I know how dumb this is, don't need you all to tell me."

Rick opened the lid to the tin and took a sniff. What he said next surprised everyone more than the sight of Daryl falling out of the ceiling ever could. "Where did you get this? It smells like good stuff." Everyone's jaw dropped, including Daryl's, as they heard him speak. He quickly realized the way his words had sounded and tried to cover his tracks. "I mean, you know, we used to bust a lot of drug dealers and … well, from what I've heard… the ones with the most money…. smelled like this."

Everyone else seemed to buy his statement, but Daryl just smirked. He reached over and took the tin back from Rick's hands. "Well, well, well, seems like Officer Friendly here smoked himself a bit of green back in the day. I found this shit in the checkout desk over there. Guessin' the librarian liked to burn one from time to time. If any of you have a lighter, ya'll are welcome to join me, but I think we all need to calm the fuck down. Plus, my ass hurts somethin' awful from landing on it."

Maggie and Glenn both laughed cautiously and Carol reached into her heavy bag, rooting around until she found a lighter. She handed it to him, ignoring the look he gave her when he looked down and saw that it was his. Rick was the only one hesitating as the four of them started to make their way over to the circle of arm chairs.

"Hey, you can't smoke that in here. What if someone wakes up and comes in? What if a herd comes through here and ya'll are too messed up to fight them? This is against the law, you know."

Daryl turned around with an amused expression. "Rick, law ain't nothing anymore. I'll turn on the fan over here to suck out the smell and way I see it, ain't no walker even stupid enough to be out in that shit outside. I saw it through the vent. Already a foot of snow or more. So if you're done bitchin', we're goin' to blaze one up. Come on, I saw you smell that shit, your damn mouth was watering. Don't know what the fuck we're fighting for if we can't even live a little."

Rick hesitated for a few more minutes. He watched as Daryl turned from him and made his way into the circle where everyone was already seated, waiting for him. He finally decided grudgingly that he was right, what was the point of all of this if they couldn't enjoy themselves in the times when they were safe. He sighed as he slowly walked over to the rest of the group. This was stupid, but at the moment he really didn't care. This had already been a strange day, and it looked like it was about to get stranger.

Maggie and Glenn were sitting next to each other as usual, Carol had dropped back into the chair she had been in before and Rick sat down in the chair between them as Daryl opened the tin and handed them each a tightly rolled joint. Maggie and Glenn practically giggled as they put it to their lips, each inhaling as Daryl held the flame of his zippo to the tip and it sparked to life with a crackle. Maggie exhaled a huge puff of smoke, not really holding it in her lungs long enough for it to irritate her throat, but Glenn coughed his out, hacking as if someone had set his throat on fire. Rick took the lighter from Daryl's hand, lighting his own and taking a deep pull, the sickly sweet taste of the acrid smoke immediately pulling him from the worry in his mind and back to a time in his life when things had been simpler. Carol hesitated when she took her joint from Daryl's hands. She looked down at it thoughtfully, before handing it back to him and shaking her head. Daryl looked at her questioningly.

"I think I'm going to sit this out. I'm too old for this anyway." she said quietly.

Daryl placed the joint between her lips and spoke. "You ain't no older than me, what are you, forty, forty one?"

She was still kind of in shock from the feeling she felt run through her body when his finger had brushed against her lip for a split second. She almost didn't hear him say that they were the same age, but the words were in her brain now and they helped to push away some of her reluctance. She watched as he flicked his lighter again, first lighting the joint hanging from his own lips before extending it to her. She gave in, leaning forward and carefully bringing the tip to the flame. She watched as Daryl flopped down into the seat next to her and took a drag so deep that when he finally exhaled, almost nothing came out. She knew she shouldn't be doing this, but right now, it didn't really matter. She took a deep pull , holding the smoke in her lungs for as long as she could, before forming her mouth into an O and exhaling in a perfectly round smoke ring. She saw now that everyone was watching her. She could already feel the effects start to cloud her mind and she spoke without thinking.

"What are you all looking at? Do you think I haven't done this before? Where in the world do you think I met a guy like Ed, in church?"

Everyone gulped at her words, not really sure what to say, but Daryl just laughed as he shook his head. What had he done? If everyone got as loose lipped as Carol just had, this was going to be a very interesting night.

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**Okay, so can I tell you, I am absolutely loving this story so far. It started of as just a goofy idea of mine and the more I write, the more similarities between the two pop out at me. My hubby even read it and has gone all theorist on me, googling to see if Robert Kirkman is a fan of The Breakfast Club or something. Just wait, I have this whole thing mapped out in my head and by the time I'm done, I may have invented a legit fan theory. Haha, I really have too much time on my hands. So let me know what you think, I haven't gotten many reviews yet and in the immortal words of Merle, I ain't begging you. Oh wait, yes I am, I have no dignity. Please, please, please review! Next chapter should be up by no later than tomorrow morning. Thanks for reading! xoxoxo Bekah xoxoxo**


	5. Chapter 5

**Authors Note: I really want to thank everyone that has followed and reviewed. I adore you all and your support means a lot to me. This story is taking me a little longer to write than normal, mainly because I'm used to just having an original idea and going with it. With this, I'm really trying to stay true to the spirit of both The Walking Dead and The Breakfast Club, and it's proving to be a little more difficult than I thought it would be. No worries though, I love a good challenge. Read on and Enjoy!**

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Despite the cold temperature in the room, everyone in the group was enveloped in a warm glow as the effects of the pot they had just smoked took hold. Maggie and Glenn were giggling as they watched each other, Glenn squinty eyed and grinning and Maggie blinking as if she was trying to keep her eyes open. Rick looked strangely stoic, staring down at the floor as if it held something of great interest that no one else could see. Carol had a sweet little smile on her face and was squirming in her chair, as if she just couldn't keep still. And Daryl, well, Daryl was watching it all with a smirk on his face, one placed there not out of judgment but out of amusement. He still couldn't really believe that they had let him smoke in here, let alone partake with him. This was a situation so bizarre that he was wondering if maybe he had just smoked it all himself and he was imagining this. He was broken from his thoughts when a cheerful voice spoke out.

"I haven't felt this good since that first night in the CDC. I wish we had some music." Carol said to know one in particular. "I miss music."

Glenn jumped up from his chair and ran off without a word, going into the office and emerging a few minutes later with a boombox that looked like it was from the Eighties and a milk crate full of cassette tapes. He placed them on the floor in front of Carol and returned to his seat, speaking when he saw the look of delight creep onto her face as she began to flip through the tapes.

"I saw them in the office earlier when we turned on the generator. I almost didn't realize what they were. I'm pretty sure they stopped making those before I was born."

Carol looked up from the box and narrowed her eyes slightly at Glenn. "Hey, are you trying to say I'm old? Because I remember cassette tapes very well, records too. Music was so much better back then."

Maggie giggled as Glenn stuttered out his reply, remembering Daryl's earlier reaction when he thought that someone had offended Carol. "I didn't mean…um…you aren't old…I'm sorry."

Carol laughed as he tried to explain himself. "Glenn, it's okay. I was kidding, really. Thank you for the tapes. It was very sweet of you."

Glenn breathed a sigh of relief and nodded to her. "So, is there anything good in there?" he asked, gesturing to the box that was now in her lap.

Carol dug through the box, frowning at the selecton. There was a fairly vast array of eighties pop music, but nothing that she had really cared for. She finally found something that made her laugh out loud and she clambered from her seat, plugging the boom box into the wall and popping the tape in. She grinned up at the rest of the group, who were all watching her to see just what had made her so happy. She spoke just before she hit the play button. "I think this is our theme song." She hit play and suddenly the room was filled with the sound of a familiar guitar rift, well, familiar to Rick and Daryl, Maggie and Glenn just looked confused. When a rough voice began to shout the lyrics, Rick's head popped up from it's downward position, and began to move in rhythm with the heavy beat. He jumped up from his chair and began almost full on headbanging, not really noticing that everyone was watching him. He was too high and way too caught up in the music. Carol grinned as she watched him, before turning her attention to Daryl, who was studying her intently, as if he was trying to figure something out. His usual issues with personal space momentarily pushed aside, he moved towards her, sitting down on the carpet next to where she sat, crosslegged and swaying along to the beat. He picked up the box to the cassette that was playing and looked at it before returning his eyes to hers. He smirked before he spoke. "Really , Highway to Hell? Ain't never figured you for an AC/DC fan. Gotta say though, I think you're right 'bout this bein' our theme song. Ain't nowhere else to go at this point."

Carol just smiled brighter as she took the case from his hand and dropped it back into the milk crate. "Daryl, I didn't mean to start talking about all that. I just thought it was kind of funny, is all. I can't even remember the last time I thought anything was funny. You don't happen to have any more of that pot left, do you? This stuff is fantastic."

Daryl shook his head at this mystery of a woman in front of him. Bad enough he had basically forced her to smoke, but now here she was asking for more. He suddenly realized that he had gotten so angry before when he thought that everyone was judging her, but he really wasn't any better. He didn't know anything about her aside from the few things he had learned since he met her at the camp all those months ago. All he knew was that she was a quiet, scared woman, who had lost everyone that she loved. But there was obviously more to her than that, and at this moment, his mind swirling around in a haze, he wanted to know it all. He was just about to open his mouth to ask her something, when all of a sudden, the door to the reading room swung open and was quickly shut again as Hershel stepped out, still half asleep, but looking mad. Out of instinct, Daryl reached out and hit the stop button on the music, receiving disappointed groans from Rick, Glenn, and Maggie, the latter of whom had jumped up and joined Rick in his dancing. The all froze as Hershel spoke.

"I heard a ruckus and I didn't want you waking up Lori and the kids. What the hell's going on out here?" he asked, looking at them questioningly.

No one knew what to say. Maggie had hidden behind Glenn, not wanting her father to see her bloodshot eyes. Rick had sat back in his chair, his eyes going back to the floor, but his lips holding a small smirk. Glenn looked like he was going to pass out and Carol, well, she did what she always did, shut up and made herself small, hoping not to be noticed. Daryl looked around at all of their silent faces and decided that the explanation was up to him. He hopped up from his place on the floor and took a few steps out of the circle before speaking.

"We were just tryin' to loosen up a bit. Found some music. Sorry if I woke ya'll up." he said, his eyes to the floor.

Hershel cocked his head to the side, genuinely confused by Daryl's words. He understood them just fine, but the sincerity behind them, the fact that he had actually apologized, that was a bit of a shock and he didn't really know how to respond to it. He simply rubbed a hand over his tired eyes and spoke gruffly. "Just don't let it happen again. You don't want to wake Lori up, you know how emotional she's been lately. Don't mess with the bull, young man, you'll get the horns." With that he took one last glance at the rest of the group, shaking his head and he turned and entered the reading room again, muttering under his breath "Damn kids have no respect these days."

When the door shut you could hear nothing but the sound of the collective sigh of relief from the group. Daryl turned and walked back into the circle, dropping into his seat and glancing around at everyone. The moment was broken and no one really knew what to say. They were all silent until the sound of laughter snapped them all out of it. Carol was still seated on the floor, laughing so hard that her whole body was shaking. They all looked at her questioningly, but it was Maggie who finally asked what they were all thinking.

"What's so funny? We almost got busted by my Daddy. I don't see anything funny about that." she said in a completely serious tone.

Carol tried to compose herself, gulping in deep breaths of air as she camled herself down. She was smiling when she answered. "You have got to see how funny this is. We're sitting in a library, hiding from the undead, we're all high as a kite, praying to god that we don't get caught, and Daryl has actually said sorry, not once, not twice, but three times in one day. If that doesn't deserve a laugh, I don't know what does."

Everyone realized how right she was, how ridiculous this whole situation was and started laughing as well. Everyone except Daryl, he just glared at them before speaking. "Fuck you guys. I just said sorry to get him off our backs. None of ya'll was gonna say nothin'. Sitting around like a buncha pussies."

Everyone stopped laughing as they heard the words come out of his mouth, except Carol. She giggled as she crawled on her hands and knees over to where he sat. He looked down at her, narrowing his eyes as if he was warning her not to say anything, but she ignored it. "Face it Dixon, you aren't as big of a badass as you think you are. You like us, even if it's just a little bit."

Everyone held their breath as they waited for his reply, expecting another outburst like the one he'd had earlier. They were shocked when, instead of hearing another expletive filled rant burst from his lips, he simply slumped back in his seat and responded to her accusation with an almost shy look on his face. "Never said I didn't like ya'll, you just bug me sometimes." He didn't look up to see the reactions from the rest of the group at his admission, just kept his eyes glued on Carol, mesmerized by the sweet smile on her lips. He suddenly had a vision of bending down and capturing them with his own and it quickly brought him back to reality. Where the hell had that come from? He wondered if she knew what he was thinking, the way she looked at him sometimes it was almost like she could see into his brain. He needed to say something, now, before she had a chance to. "Anyone ever tell you that you're fucking annoying when you're high?" he blurted out, expecting his words to make her stop staring at him. But they didn't. She just sat back on her ass, crossing her legs and leaning back on her hands.

"No, no one has ever told me that. I used to be kind of fun actually, a long time ago, you know, before Ed." she said quietly, breaking her eyes away from him for a moment to reach down and dig something out of her bag. She found what she was looking for and opened it, handing it to him.

He nearly died when he saw that the object she had handed him was a tiny photo album, opened to a page that held a picture of girl no older than sixteen. The girl had a huge mass of deep drown curls, flowing down to the middle of her back. The face was familiar, delicate features and big blue eyes, but there was heavy black liner around them and she was wearing a tiny red tank top and a pair of black jeans so tight that she probably had to lay down just to zip them up. He laughed and handed it back to her as he spoke. "Ain't no way that's you." he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

She looked down at the picture before her and looked back up at him. "I don't look that different. I had a lot more hair back then, but it was the eighties, everyone had big hair. I swear to god that's me."

Daryl reached down and snatched the picture back out of her hands. He studied it closely and found that she wasn't lying. Somewhere underneath all of the hair and the black and the smirk on the girl's face was Carol, young and carefree, her eyes bright and clear, not yet darkened by the horrors that would await her in life. His mind was full of new thoughts as he handed the picture back to her. He didn't know why, but he was fascinated by this woman and ocne again he was about to ask her just how her life had ended up like it had when he was interrupted by Glenn.

"Hey, are you two going to sit there all day staring at each other, or do we get to see that picture?"

Carol looked down at the photo in her hand, unsure of herself but pushing the feeling aside as she tossed the album to Glenn. He hadn't even had a chance to look at it yet when Maggie snatched it from him and flipped it open. She smiled as she saw the picture. "Carol, Oh my gosh, that hair! I'm actually jealous, It's so pretty."

Carol smiled at the compliment and watched as Maggie handed it to Rick, who glanced at it, but seemed a bit too caught up in his own thoughts to really see it. He handed it back to her and she finally gave it to Glenn, who nearly gulped when he finally saw what everyone was so amazed by.

"Um, …Carol…don't get mad at me for saying this…but you were hot." he stuttered out, his usual reluctance to voice his opinion completely gone.

Carol smiled a bit, but it was clear that she was slightly uncomfortable with the comment. She didn't mind that Glenn had said it, but it had been such a long time since those days that she wasn't used to hearing anyone refer to her as anything but crazy, or a burden, or that lady who cooks and cleans. Somewhere along the way she had lost the spark that had been in her eyes. She suddenly wished she hadn't taken the picture out at all and was desperate to change the subject. She looked around and saw that Rick was still staring at the carpet, his eyes glassy and his brow furrowed as if he was deep in thought. She didn't even think about her words, just blurted them out. "Rick, are you okay? You look like you're thinking about something."

Rick's gaze lifted from the floor and fell on the group who were all watching him now that Carol had called attention to him. He didn't really want to speak, but he found his lips moving on their own, driven by the effects of the joint he now wished he hadn't smoked.

"I was just thinking about my parents. All this talk about high school, it just has me missing them."

The mood in the room quickly darkened as everyone took his words in and their minds began to wander back to their own families. Their childhoods. All of the people they had lost. It was not really a topic any of them wanted to be thinking about, but right now, all of them still feeling pretty open from their earlier activity, it was pretty clear that this was going to be discussed as well. Now it was just a waiting game to see who was going to talk first.

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**Having not smoked pot since before I had my son, I struggled a bit to recall the feeling of being high, but I did the best I could and I do hope that no one seemed to OOC. We had a few funny moments, a few bits of drama, I snuck a couple of lines in there from the movie, and we even had some revelations. What's going to happen next, now that everyone has been brought down from their marijuana induced cloud a little bit. You'll just have to keep reading to find out. Please, please, please review! I really need some constructive feedback. Thanks for reading! Update in a day or two.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Authors Note: Sorry for the delay, Bekah has been a very busy girl the past few days and has been writing this chapter one paragraph at a time. Thank you to every one who has been reading and big thanks to those who have reviewed. Drama awaits, so please, read on and enjoy! **

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After a quiet spell that felt like it lasted an eternity, Glenn finally gathered the courage to speak.

"I was working the day that everything happened and when I managed to get back to my apartment, I tried for hours to call them back in Michigan, but no one ever picked up. When the phone lines went down, I gave up and got out of there. I would like to think that they're still out there somewhere, but I've pretty much accepted that they're gone. It was just my mom and my three sisters, four tiny little Asian women against the entire undead city of Detroit. Unless someone helped them, I just can't see them making it out. If I had been there, it might have been different, I might have been able to protect them, but I wasn't. My mom was so mad at me for going so far away, she was your typical Asian mother, overbearing, always demanding perfection in everything I did. She spent eighteen years yelling and pushing me to succeed, but when I got a scholarship to Georigia Tech, she lost it. She didn't want me to leave, she wanted to stay there and be the man of the house, protect her and my sisters. I actually laughed at her. What did they need protection from? I mean, it was Detroit, but we lived in a nice neighborhood. Nothing bad ever really happened there and even if it did, how was I supposed to protect them? I mean, look at me, I'm amazed I've survived this long. I just brushed it off and left, I moved to Atlanta and went to school. She wouldn't even speak to me for a year, and even after she started talking to me again, she always made sure to mention how disappointed she was in me, how I had failed her as a son. My sisters were okay, they still called me pretty often, gossiping about people we knew or complaining about mom. I miss that, they were such good girls, all they wanted from life was to get married and have babies. Even with everything that happened, I miss my mom. If I had known that things were going to end up like this, I never would have left. But how could I have known? There's times when I think that none of this is real, that somehow I'm still sitting in my tiny apartment, passed out in front of my computer after playing video games for hours, and that this is all just some nightmare that I'm going to wake up from."

Maggie saw the tear that had rolled down his cheek as he talked about his family. She reached out and wiped it away as she began her own story of regret and loss. "I'm grateful that I still have Beth and my Daddy, but I would give anything to have my step-mom and my brother back. If someone would have told me that I would feel this way years ago, I wouldn't have believed them. I hated her for taking my momma's place and I hated Shawn for even existing. I did a lot of stupid things when I was a kid, I was just so angry. It took a long time, but I finally came to really love them, they were my family. I was at school when the outbreak started. I fought like hell to get home, but when I got there it was too late. They had been bitten by one of our neighbors who had turned. You all know what happened after that, the barn and everything." she said, trailing off as she moved her chair closer to Glenn's and leaned into his side. They both looked at Carol, expecting that she would be the next one to recount her experiences. She seemed hesitant and looked to Rick instead.

"Rick, do you know what happened to your family? I know you were in a coma when this all started, but did Lori or Shane tell you anything about your parents? Did you have any siblings?"

Rick shook his head in response to all of her questions. "I don't think that Lori really even thought about them when she left, I can't say I blame her, they never really did like her very much. They thought she held me back. My mom was a very sweet woman, a real southern belle, but my dad, he was the type of guy that if I wasn't doing something that he could brag about, he didn't really have much time for me. It never mattered what I did, it was never good enough for him. I thought he was going to have a heart attack the day I told him I was going to the police academy instead of to college to play football. Things got pretty strained between us after that, and they only got worse after Lori and I got married. They've only ever seen Carl a few times. In spite of everything, I still loved them and it kills me to know that I wasn't there to help them. I hate to admit it, but even when I woke up and found the world changed, I didn't think about going to their house, all I wanted to do was find Lori and Carl. I can't say for sure if they made it out okay or not. But I guess none of it matters anymore. It's too late now. " He had started to tear up near the end of his story, and Carol dug in her bag and grabbed a tissue. She handed it to him, and seeing that it looked like she was the only one left, except for Daryl and he was watching her as always. She took a deep breath and quietly began to speak.

"I couldn't help my parents either. They were both nearly seventy five, they had me kind of late in life, and I'd had to put them in a home a few years ago. When everything started happening, I begged Ed to let me go get them, they were only a few miles from our house, but he just shoved me and Sophia in the car and took off, never even looked back. There was nothing I could do, if I had fought him on it, well, you all know what would have happened. I was so angry, I was angry at him, angry at myself for letting him control me the way he did, but most of all, I think I was angry at my mom and dad. They spent the first eighteen years of my life pretty much ignoring me. Don't get me wrong, they took care of me, took me to church every Sunday and they both worked very hard to keep a roof over my head and food in my stomach. But aside from that, they treated me like I didn't exist, like I was invisible. They had no real interest in actually raising me and I guess that's why I turned out the way I did. I spent a lot of time back then doing things I'm not proud of, just to get their attention. I snuck out, I partied, I even started dating Ed just to get some sort of reaction out of them. I told you all before about how I mouthed off to a teacher just so he would put me in detention. Same thing, just trying to get them to see me for once. It didn't really work obviously, because I just kept doing dumber and dumber things until I finally ran off one night and married Ed. That finally got a reaction from them, they were happy I had found such a nice guy. They even bought us our first house. I think they were just happy to finally be rid of me. I think that's when I started to change, to think that I was nothing but a pathetic little burden. And then after Sophia was born, that's when Ed started hitting me. He wanted a boy and when I had a girl, he finally just snapped. Hit me at least once a day, every day for the last fourteen years. Beat me so bad a few times I ended up in the hospital. So needless to say, I don't miss him at all. He was a sick bastard and I hope he's burning in hell right now. But I miss my Sophia. Every second of every day. In a way though, I'm almost glad she's gone. She's at peace, she never has to be scared, or cold, or hungry ever again. I just wish I could have protected her better when she was alive. She knew I loved her though, she knew that she meant everything to me and I'd like to thinks that she could forgive me for all my faults. That's the kind of girl she was, she was always trying to see the best in people. Heck, she even told me that she liked Daryl, that even though he cussed and looked mad most of the time, he still went hunting for all of us. That little girl was wise beyond her years." Carol sighed as she ended her story, her mind a swirling mess of bad memories and regrets. She glanced around at everyone and saw that they all looked similar to her, their own minds clouded by memories of the past and the effects of the marijuana which was still coursing through their systems. But each of their confessions had left its mark, they now had a better understanding of each other than they had ever had before.

The only person who didn't seem to be a part of this moment was Daryl, who was watching them all with an expression that hovered somewhere between annoyance and anger. He glanced at each one of them, his expression softening for a split second when his eyes fell on Carol, but it hardened again as soon as he looked away. He couldn't believe what he was hearing and it pissed him off to no end. He wanted to bite his tongue, to just stand there and be silent, but it was no use. He was too high and he was too pissed to be thinking about the consequences of what he was about to say.

"Are you all fucking kidding me? We get a few good hours after months of running and starving and living on the road, and ya'll gotta fuck it up by bringing up this shit. Sitting around feeling sorry for yourselves, bitching 'bout how you couldn't save your families, or how your parents didn't love you enough, or pay attention to you, or how they actually pushed you to make something out of your lives. Fuck all of ya'll. Ain't a single one of you that ain't lucky as hell that you have what you have. Rick, you got a wife, a good kid, and another one on the way. Maggie, you got your Pa and your sister, and for whatever the fuck it's worth, you and Glenn got each other. Your families might not have been perfect, but at least they loved you. And Carol, I can't say I don't feel bad about that asshole husband of yours beating on you, that shit ain't right and I'm sorry you lost your little girl, you know damn well I tried like hell to find her and it fucking kills me that I couldn't save her, ain't no kid that deserves to die the way she did. But you need to move the fuck on. You got a whole group of people protecting you. Ed is dead, I watched you slam a pick ax into his skull, and you said it yourself, Sophia is at peace. Every single person ya'll lost is at peace, can't none of you just appreciate that fact and shut the hell up about it. I lost my fucking brother but you don't hear me whining about it like some kind of pansy. This is life now, it's hell on earth and we gotta fight every day just to make it to the next one. The sooner ya'll figure that shit out, the better off we're all gonna be."

Everyone was silent, stunned by his rant. Glenn wrapped his arm tighter around Maggie's shoulder and Carol, she kept her eyes glued to the floor, ashamed of herself for complaining the way she had. They all knew that he was right. But Rick kept his eyes on Daryl, a small wave of anger washing away the haze in his mind. He spoke up, his voice calm and clear.

"Daryl, after all of that shit earlier about not judging people, who the hell do you think you are judging us? I'm sorry we can't all be as hard as you, we can't just forget about our families the way that you obviously have. I mean, you looked for Merle for what, a day before giving up. I know damn well that you miss him, I've seen the way you get when you talk about him. How can you sit there and tell us that we're weak for missing our families. Don't you even care what happened to your parents?"

Daryl slumped back in his chair. "I wasn't judging you, I was stating a fact. I don't really give a shit if you miss the people you lost, but you all gotta face it, they ain't never comin' back and if that's the shit that's been on ya'll's minds this whole time, then it ain't no damn wonder we haven't been able to figure out some kind of plan for finding somewhere to hold up, or finding some real damn food. And just so ya'll know, I know damn well what happened to my parents, and even if I did miss them, I wouldn't be sitting here complaining about it. I got better shit to do with my time than be wishing things were different. It ain't gonna change a damn thing and it's a waste of a perfectly good high."

Rick didn't say another word, he let the Daryl's words fully sink in and he realized that he was right. Every single one of them had been feeling sorry for themselves for their various reasons and it was not doing anyone any good. This was the world they lived in now, the only thing they needed to be worried about was survival. He looked up at Daryl and it was obvious that he had calmed down, he was leaning back in his chair, his expression and his posture more relaxed, as if he had been holding that inside of him for months and now that it was out, he somehow felt lighter. The two men exchanged a look that expressed an understanding between them, they now both fully knew where the other one stood, and perhaps now they could move past the remaining tension between them and finally start to work on long term solution to their situation. They were all calmer now that the realization of that hit them. Everyone except Maggie, who was looking at Daryl with a curious expression. She felt her lips begin to move on their own and before anyone could stop her, the question on her mind was asked out loud.

"How can you say that? I can't say I disagree with you about everything you said, we need to get over our pasts, but how can you say that you don't miss your family at all? I never met your brother, but I can't imagine that he was much different than you. I mean, you're an asshole sometimes, but you're still not a bad guy. You didn't even look for him? And how can you say that you don't miss your parents? What the hell could they have done to you to make you say something like that?"

Daryl's expression suddenly went hard and he openly glared at the young girl who was now looking at him as if she had just realized the mistake she made. He didn't even know what he was doing , but he found himself taking off his jacket. He knew that what he was about to do was stupid, but he did it anyway. He pointed his finger to a dark scar on his forearm and spoke. "You see this? I got that when I was seven years old and I dropped a glass of water on the kitchen floor. I tried like hell to clean it up, but my dad walked in and saw the broken glass and snuffed his cigarette out on my arm. My mom didn't do a damn thing to stop him, she was passed out drunk in her bed like always. And Merle, he wasn't never around, our old man hated him even more than he hated me. So you wanted to know why I don't miss them, there you go. Smallest scar on my body and I got eighteen years worth of them. Not one of you could say anything about your lives that would even compare to the shit I been through. But the difference between us is I don't feel like I gotta sit around talking about it. In fact, I'm pretty fucking tired of this whole conversation. If you need me, I'm gonna be in the bathroom smoking the rest of this shit, because ya'll just fucking destroyed one of the best highs I've had in years."

With that said, he was up from his chair and out of the room in flash, the slam of the bathroom door echoing through the silent room. No one knew what to say. His revelation was horrifying and each of them were thinking back to a time when they had seen some glimse of a scar on his body. At the time they had just told themselves that it was nothing, probably just another hunting accident or some fight he had gotten into before the world went to hell. But it was pretty obvious now where they had come from and to say that it was unsettling to everyone would be an understatement. Maggie could feel her eyes begin to fill with tears and she looked around at everyone, her voice cracking as she tried to speak.

"I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked him that. I just…I didn't know." she choked out as she buried her face in Glenn's shirt.

Glenn's face looked surprisingly blank as he wrapped his arm tighter around her and let her cry. "I don't think any of us did." he said.

Rick glanced around at all of them. "How were we supposed to know? He never said anything about it before, I mean, yeah, Merle was a dick, but how were any of us supposed to know that they had grown up like that. It sure explains a lot though, why he acts the way he does sometimes."

Carol looked up from her place on the floor. She felt sick to her stomach from his admission and right now she just needed to escape. But as she stood up, a bit shaky on her feet as the effects of the joint she smoked began to wear off, she looked at them all, reaching deep inside of herself and finding the voice that she had kept hidden away for so many years. "Did any of you ever think to ask him? Have any of us ever asked him anything about his life? I figured out a long time ago that he had been abused in some way, people like me can tend to spot our own. But I never even said anything to him about it. We've all complained about the way he acts, but we've never even bothered to ask why. I'm ashamed of myself right now, we all should be." Carol slowly walked out of the circle, tears starting to fill her eyes. She looked at the bathroom door, knowing that he was behind it, probably angry and smoking himself back into a stupor. Her instinct told her to stay away, to let him cool off. But she suddenly recalled his words, the way he had told her that she needed to stand up for herself. The way he had told her to get mad and had even offered to let her hit him. She hesitated for a moment but she knew that if she didn't do this now then she never would. She gathered every single ounce of courage that she had and made her way to the door, quickly entering the room and walking over to the sink, placing her bag on the counter as she hopped up to sit.

Daryl was leaning against the opposite wall, a freshly lit joint stuck in between his lips, which were formed into a deep scowl. He looked at the door and then back at her, as if he didn't quite believe that she had actually followed him in here. He quickly took the joint from his lips and took a step towards her, then another and another until he was right in front of her. She didn't even flinch at his nearness, she just sat there, her expression blank and her eyes on his. He was getting more angry by the second, he was sick and damn tired of everyone right now, even her and he just wanted her to leave before this turned into some big discussion about how they were both abused and they started comparing scars. He was just about to open his mouth to yell at her, to tell her to get the fuck out and leave him be, to mind her own goddamned business. But he never got the chance, before he could even get a syllable out she had leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him close to her warm body and holding him there. He froze, not used to any kind of physical contact that didn't end with pain. But as he felt her arms tighten around him and he felt her lips press against his neck, lingering there for a moment before moving up to his ear and telling him that it was okay, he suddenly found himself feeling two very conflicting emotions. He could stay here, feeling her soft skin against his and let her comfort him, maybe kiss her back, maybe tell her all the things he had wanted to tell her. Or he could go with his initial reaction to her presence, fly off the handle as he usually did and push her away, make her sorry she had ever followed him in here. The seconds ticked by at an agonizing pace as he fought a battle in his drug addled mind. But in the end, he knew damn well what had to be done.

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**Holy Backstory, Batman! That was some drama with a capital D. I really hope that their backgrounds didn't seem like too much of a stretch, the show itself has only given me little nuggets to work with and I had to kind of flesh out the rest. But tell me that my Breakfast Club theory is n't coming together now. Please let me know what you think, review, review, review! Hopefully, the next chapter will be up within a day or two, but who knows? My son is being especially trying lately and he is taking up way more of my time than usual. Ugh, ADHD and Defiance Disorder are a bigger bitch than Lori and Andrea combined. Oh well, no point bitching about it. Thanks for reading!**

**xoxoxo Bekah xoxoxo**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Thanks to everyone for your reviews and support. Once again, sorry for the delay. I don't know why, but I struggled like hell with this chapter. I'm still not really happy with it, but I'm just to damn distracted to try and write it again. Read on and enjoy!**

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Daryl just wanted to be alone and this was the only way he could think of to make that happen. He pulled himself roughly from her arms, stepping back and glaring at her with as much anger as he could muster. "What the hell did you do that for? You think just because we both used to get the crap kicked out of us that makes us closer or something? Goddamn it woman, what do you want from me? Just get the hell out of here and leave me be."

Carol flinched slightly as he yelled at her, but she held firm, fighting the urge to do as she was told. She simply gripped the edge of the countertop that she sat on and stared straight at him, trying her best to make sure that her face didn't reveal the fear that was building in her chest. She simply shook her head. "I did that because I knew you wouldn't. You can yell at me all you want but I'm not moving from this spot. You started something out there and I'm not leaving you here alone to stew about it. If you want to talk about it, I'll listen. If you don't, fine. But either way, I'm not leaving. You have pushed me away for the last time. You told me to start defending myself, well, here you go." she said, her voice loud, but steady.

Daryl wanted to scream at her again, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. She was right, even if he hadn't realized it at the time, he had just opened himself up to her, to everyone in the group. She had never stood up to him before, not like this, and a whole new problem entered his mind as he realized that he found it kind of sexy. He slumped back against the wall where he previously stood and took a long pull from the joint that was clutched between his shaky fingers. He didn't know what else to say right now, there was just too much going on in his brain and he needed to slow it all down. He just looked at her, watching her watch him and a look of disapproval had crept onto her face. She hopped down off of the countertop and walked over to him, not saying a word as she took the joint from his hand and looked at it for a minute, before turning around and walking into the toilet stall, dropping it into the bowl. He almost couldn't believe what had just happened and he was about to say something when she turned back around and came over to him, gently wrapping her arms around his waist as she spoke

"Daryl, you don't need that anymore. It was fine when it was just to have a little fun, but I can look right at you and tell that you've had enough. Now, do you want to talk about what you showed us all, or do you want me to drop it?"

Daryl once again found himself frozen under her touch. But this time, he couldn't pull away. He simply shook his head as he looked down into her blue eyes, so full of sincerity and concern. "Just drop it. Shit was a long time ago, it ain't like none of it matters now." he said quietly.

Carol never broke her eyes from his as she spoke. "Daryl, if it matters to you, it matters to me."

Only one question came to mind as he listened to her and it passed his lips without a second thought. "Why?"

"Because I care about you. You've been the one person who has kept me sane through all of this and I wanted to return the favor. There's something between us Daryl, I don't know what it is, but I just feel better when I'm with you and I thought, maybe, you might feel better with me. Am I wrong?" she asked, wrapping her arms tighter around his waist.

Daryl couldn't believe the change he saw in Carol, just this morning she was curled up in a ball, lost in her own hell, and now here she was, trying to pull him from his with her shy attempt at flirting. She was watching him intently, waiting for him to say something. He could feel her hands on his back and he would be lying to himself if he said that it didn't feel good. He tried to fight the heat that was pooling in his stomach, but he just couldn't, not now, not with his mind clouded and her body so close, her blue eyes full of need. But that didn't mean that he wasn't nervous as hell. He gulped as he finally answered her question. "You ain't wrong."

That was all she needed to hear. She closed the distance left between them and kissed him, gently, still cautious and shy. He didn't respond at first, but after a few moments, his lips began to move with hers, finding a rhythm as they explored each other, their actions becoming more heated with each passing minute. She could feel him starting to grow hard against her and it was quickly becoming obvious where this was heading. She didn't want to break the contact, but she had to be sure. She pulled away from him for a moment, looking up at his flushed face as she tried to catch her breath. "Is this okay? It doesn't have to mean anything….I know it's not exactly romantic… we could just screw around if you want. But right now, I just need to feel something… I think you do too."

Daryl didn't say a word, he just nodded and pulled her back in, kissing her as if his life depended on it. Her body molded itself to his as she clutched at his shirt, desperate for contact. He found his hands moving on their own, running over every inch of her body, her thin arms, her firm ass, finally making their way under her shirt to pinch lightly at her small hard nipples . She felt so soft, so warm beneath his fingers that he couldn't stop himself, before he knew it his hands were going for the button of her jeans and he gasped as she mimicked his actions, undoing his belt and freeing his hard cock from its denim prison just as he pushed her jeans down her hips. She bit her lip as he lifted her body, her legs wrapping around his waist as he entered her in one sharp motion. He spun them around and pressed her back up against the wall. There was nothing gentle about this, it was pure, animalistic fucking. A release of tension between friends and nothing more, at least that's what they told themselves. Her head was buried in the crook of his neck, biting and sucking at his sensitive skin as he pounded himself into her tight core, harder and faster with each muffled moan that passed her lips. He could feel himself getting close and when he felt her body stiffen against his and her walls tighten around his cock, that was it. With one final thrust of his hips, he was coming, harder and more intensely than he ever had in his life. After a few moments of heavy breathing and shudders from both of them as the aftershocks of their orgasms hit them, he finally released her, lowering her down to stand before him. She quickly grabbed her pants from where they had fallen on the floor and slipped them back on, Daryl following suit as he tucked himself back in and zipped up his jeans, neither one of them saying a word about what had just happened. It was as if they both knew that it would probably never happen again and they didn't want to ruin the moment. But Carol didn't leave, she grabbed his hand and sat down on the floor, pulling him along with her. He followed without a fight, he was just too damn relaxed at the moment to even hesitate. They found a comfortable position, his back up against the wall and her body tucked under his arm. They sat in silence for a few moments before her quiet voice broke him from his thoughts.

"Do you feel better now?" she asked.

Daryl tightened his grip on her shoulder and merely grunted. She took that as a yes and settled her body closer to his. "Me too." she said with a yawn. He hadn't realized it before, but he was exhausted and so was she. He had no idea what time it was, but it had to be getting pretty late. He didn't really want to move, but he knew that sooner or later they both had to go back out and face they rest of the group. But he needed to say something and he knew that once they weren't alone anymore he wouldn't be able to say it. He finally gathered the courage to speak. "Carol, um…thanks… for this. Not just the…you know… but for coming after me. I ain't really used to anybody giving a shit about what I think or feel and I can't say I hate it or nothin', it's just kinda weird is all."

Carol could understand the feeling. "I get it, believe me. It's weird for me too. But I think we both need to face it, you and me, those people out there, we're all friends, screwed up friends, but friends. But you have to stop getting so angry all the time. Just let them in, even if it's just a little bit. Every single one of us cares for each other in our own ways and they probably would have followed you in here themselves if they didn't think that you were going to punch them in the face."

Daryl was surprised as a deep chuckle escaped his throat. He finally broke away from her and stood up, extending his hand to her. She accepted it and let herself be pulled to her feet. He was looking at her with a small smirk on his face and she couldn't help but wonder where it had come from.

"What's so funny?" she asked, wondering if she had said something wrong.

He just shook his head and answered. "Nothing, just something you said. You said everyone is scared I'm going to punch them in the face. But you came in here, you didn't even hesitate to put me in my damn place. It's just, that ain't really like you is all, you usually back down as soon as I start screaming."

Carol smiled at him. "What can I say, I'm feeling pretty brave today. Although that might just be the pot talking. Anyway, you usually keep screaming until I leave. So I guess we're both changing." she said, shrugging her shoulders as she reached for the door. She glanced back at him. "Come on, we can't hide in the bathroom all night."

He was about to follow her when he saw that her bag was still sitting on the countertop. He grabbed it and suddenly remembered something he wanted to ask her. "Carol, I gotta ask you one thing. When I ask you earlier for a lighter, you pulled one out of your bag and it was mine. Just wondering why you had it."

She reached out and gently took her bag from his hand before speaking. "Um…well…old habit I guess. I kind of used to keep stuff in here that I thought I might need to get away from Ed. You know, clothes, papers, I actually had a knife in here at one point. I just needed to be ready to run at any time if things got too bad. I'm not really proud to say it, but even now that he's gone, I still feel that way, different reason of course but you should see all the stuff I have in here. I really didn't mean to take your lighter, but I borrowed it from you one night to light the cookfire and I just never gave it back. Maybe I'm a klepto. I did the same thing with that grenade we used at the CDC, I found it in Rick's stuff when he first came to camp and I just never gave it back." she admitted, lowering her eyes to the floor but raising them again when she felt his hand on her arm.

"I ain't mad or nothing. I used to do the same thing when I was a kid, hiding shit outside my house in case I had to get the hell out of there real fast. We're both pretty fucked up, aren't we?" he asked, a small smirk coming to his lips.

She looked at him and smiled, nodding her head. "Yeah, I guess we are. Come on now, let's go before we reveal any more deep dark secrets. I'm really getting tired."

Daryl sighed and took his hand from her arm. "Now or never I guess. Anybody tries to hug me or some shit like that, and I can't promise you that I ain't gonna hit them, but I'll try."

Carol laughed. "Thank you, that's all I ask." she said as she opened the door and stepped out into the main room. He wasn't really ready to follow, to face everyone yet, but he did, knowing that she was right, the group cared in their own way and he just needed to accept that no matter what, his past didn't matter anymore, this was his family now.

* * *

**There you go, my version of the closet scene, custom made for my favorite couple. I tried to make it believable, but I'm just a great big ball of doubts right now. If you look at it within canon though, it does kind of explain the bus flirting scene though, a little bit, maybe? The next chapter will be mostly Glenn, Maggie, and Rick, the aftermath of the family confession. I'm really trying to get this story finished bacause I have another one that I really want to write and I can't really do two at once, A.D.D I suppose. Please let me know what you thought of this. I really need the input. Thanks for reading!**

**xoxoxo Bekah xoxoxo**


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